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May 04, 2007
Tip for organizing foreign currency
For years I'd come back from a trip, take the extra currency from that trip (usually coins) and toss it all into a small bag for foreign money. That worked fine until the bag grew larger. Then when it would come time to take another trip to that place, I'd have to search through that big mound of coins to find the right ones. And what seemed obvious when I was in the country and handling the money will be a mystery a year later. Is this a coin for Jamaica or Canada? Ugh.
So here's my new system. Not rocket science, but useful nonetheless:
All of the coins & bills are separated by small plastic bags. Then I can take out the coins just for that particular country without that needless task of fishing through all of it each time. Much more likely to be used again with a whole lot less effort.
Posted by Kelly at May 4, 2007 11:44 AM
Comments
Thanks for the great tip, Kelly. Until I read this I'd been tossing all foreign currency into one jumbled bag. This seems like a nice improvement.
Posted by: Jim at May 4, 2007 08:09 PM
I also throw in any business cards that I picked up while there. I might want to use them on the next visit to that country.
Posted by: J Bell at May 4, 2007 08:56 PM
All good ideas. I travel a lot and my approach is a little different. Here's my logic. Usually the amount of currency you have left over is less than $20 US, so probably not worth the overhead, complexity , FX risk and opportunity cost to manage saving and organizing. *** my goals when travelling overseas:
1) never run out of local cash while you are there
2) try to avoid changing more money than you need because you will always lose at least 5% per transaction
3) try to get on the plane for your departure with zero local cash in your pocket.
***
my approach:
A) take cash out of an ATM upon arrival at the airport. its the absolute best FX rate. never change money at a desk and never ever at your hotel. figure out how much you need per day x your duration and add 20% or so.
B) on the last day of your trip, check your remaining local cash balance. calculate how much you need for your cab and any other local expenses for the day, + 10% safety factor or so.
C) when you check out of your hotel, pay your bill using all your cash left over from B) + put the remainder on your credit card.
D) if everything goes well once you get to the airport you should have less than $20US equiv in your pocket. buy a gift for your kids or your admin, or buy a beer.
E) whatever's left , drop it in the unicef bucket.
simple, less clutter, less unneeded weight in your purse / briefcase.
as always , your mileage may vary.
Posted by: Jeff at May 5, 2007 08:58 AM
Thanks for such great detail Jeff. You've obviously got some great experience with international travel. I love the idea of donating the extra coins...or buying a beer. Whichever comes first!
Posted by: Kelly at May 11, 2007 10:43 AM
I'd rather stick with Kelly's approach than Jeff for 2 reasons:
1) The split cash + credit card payment will just complicate my life too much when it comes to feel in my expense report 2) if you add up $20 "wasted" over many trips this will eventually cost you a bunch. In a typical trip I'll have to carry 2-4 currencies, especially if I go to Asia, so 5 trips per year x 3 currencies x $20 = $300! no thanks.. :-)
Posted by: Olivier F Fontana at July 13, 2007 08:01 PM
